


Love is a Dangerous Game to Play

by FanytasticLife



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-16
Updated: 2013-10-10
Packaged: 2017-12-20 08:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/884961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanytasticLife/pseuds/FanytasticLife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love is difficult between a werewolf and a human, especially for Ethan, an alpha, with a "family" [pack] that cares all too much about their own sense of duty than the sake of innocent people. Sentenced to seduce his love, Danny, Ethan goes on a date with Danny at a gay club called Jungle and gets slightly more than he bargained for in this date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones I will put in the disclaimer for that chapter (no OC in chapter 1)! The characters are all the wonderful characters from Teen Wolf (exec producer Jeff Davis).
> 
> AN: I am teenwolfperfection on tumblr and HungerGames138- this is to make sure no one accuses me of copying myself... because that'd be awkwardd..

Ding dong! Danny's here already. I'm not even done changing. How am I supposed to know what to wear on a first date, let alone a gay club?

"Hello, Danny," says Aiden, answering the door. Even though my door is closed, my ears concentrate on them. "Ethan's still upstairs. You can go up if you want." I can imagine him smirking.

"Aid, I don't say anything about your casual girlfriends, so stop smiling like it's so amusing," I mutter, knowing he can hear me.

I hear creaking of the stairs as two pairs of legs walks upstairs. Aiden's coming up with Danny. Cursing, I quickly pull on a random pair of jeans and look around my messy room for a shirt before Danny and Aid come, but it's a little too late. The door opens when I still haven't found a shirt and I look up.

Danny's blushing furiously. He's wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, casual. It's not like he hasn't seen me half naked before, but he still looks embarrassed which is a bit confusing. Especially after that time we made out at that awful haunted motel on the way to a meet last week. I feel like that was the only time I ever thought I might be in love. This human, Danny, what has he done to me? Indirectly, I wanted to see if he'd take the bite. If I can't protect him, maybe I can turn him.

Aiden has a grin wider than ever before as he watches Danny's expression. Danny looks down at the floor quickly and stutters, "H-hi, Ethan."

"God, can't I get any privacy, Aid? I stride over to my twin and push him out the door, slamming it.

"No, you can't," Aiden says loudly, but he walks away.

"Uh, sorry about that," I tell Danny.

He looks up, still blushing, and smiles. "It's alright, family can sometimes suck."

"Glad you understand," I reply. I take a step closer to him. "Family can sometimes be so distracting when you're with... friends." I take another step. "Or boyfriends."

I close the gap and kiss him. I can hear his heart racing and I'm sure mine is too. His lips and mouth taste strangely like chocolate and mint. The kiss is slightly hesitant on my part and curious because I reacted really suddenly despite the fact that I made the first move. And I'll admit I was nervous. He wraps his arms around my neck and deepens the kiss. I push him onto the bed and he pauses to take off his shirt. My nose rubs against his by accident and his mouth crinkles into a smile and he laughs. His warm body pressed against mine, my heart rate is still rising, as we turn over and he's on top of me as we kiss.

I've never felt so close to a person before, except possibly when Aid and I morph together. But I've clearly never kissed anyone like Danny, even though I've had some boyfriends in the past. I'm feeling into it, into the kissing, like never before. And I can feel him as passionate as me. He kisses my neck, and starts going down my chest. His Armani aftershave entraps me, sweet and invading. My heart races impossibly fast as his lips press against my bare skin.

"Your heart rate's way too fast, Eth," Aiden growls from somewhere outside the room. I didn't hear him come up the stairs. I was too preoccupied with Danny.

I immediately glance down at my hands. My nails dig into the bed, already snapped into claws. Sh*t. How long have they been like that? I turn my head slightly to the side to glance at my mirror and see my red eyes.

"Kids! If you don't stop making out, you won't even go to your club!" Aiden calls from outside, giving me an excuse to calm my heart. My heart still skips a beat and I force myself to calm down and take deep breaths. I feel my claws retract and eyes turn back to normal.

It's my turn to blush as Danny gets off me carefully, his face flushed, and grabs his shirt off the floor. He flashes me a smile, but doesn't meet my eyes in embarrassment. I spring up off my bed, plucking a shirt off my desk and pulling it on. My fake ID goes in my back pocket. I grab his hand and we walk downstairs together.

I can immediately smell something different in the air as I open my bedroom door. I wouldn't hear her come in gracefully as always, but sure enough, I smell Kali. There's always room in our loft for our pack. Deucalion's not with her, though, and I worry slightly about where that blind werewolf could be, but I push the thoughts aside. This night is a distraction, something to get my mind off of the coming battle with Derek and Scott's pack. After Scott and his sidekick saved my life at the creepy motel, I feel like I owe him. But Derek did kill Ennis and I must avenge his death.

Glancing at our hands together, Aiden says, "Hey Eth, can I talk to you?"

He pulls me aside and growls, "Do your mission, Eth. Don't lose sight of that. Otherwise, Deuc won't be happy. And you know what he's like when he's not happy. But try to have fun at your little club." My mission. Simple enough, really. Seduce Danny. Learn his secrets. The boy isn't as innocent as he seems. But what if I'm the one who ends up in love with him? I don't think the alphas have considered that. I mean, I'm not just pretending to be gay and Aid knows that.

"As if I needed a reminder, Aid," I growl back fiercely.

"Well, your heartbeat was getting too fast for comfort up there," he says, looking at me sternly.

"That's normal for a teenager, Aid," I tell him, trying not to stammer out my words. Aiden's always been the more confident, more arrogant one. "I mean, isn't you heart beating fast with Lydia?"

He blushes a bit. "You don't even really like her, Aid," I say.

"Well, you don't really like Danny," he shoots back. He's wrong, of course.

I return to Danny and open the door politely. He steps outside and we walk together to his car.

"Hey! Use protection!" Aiden yells behind us and I whirl around, glaring at him.

"Shut up, Aid! We'll be back at midnight!" I shout. "Bye, Kali," I add not loud enough for Danny to hear.

Danny holds the car door open for me and I flash him a smile as I slide into the comfy leather passenger seat. He comes in a second later.

"You sure you don't want to take my bike?" I ask.

"Nah, I'll drive," Danny replies, starting the car.

In no time at all, we're zooming toward Jungle, the club Danny chose for our first date. I've never been to a club before, but I suppose it's worth the try. I reach for Danny's hand, the one not on the wheel and just hold it, not wanting to let go. Not wanting him involved with my werewolf life. The real unfortunate aspects to being part of Deucalion's pack.

Despite looking like Aiden, I've always been pretty different from him. To werewolves not in the pack, I'm plenty vicious, but humans are innocent and I don't think they should die from the foolish acts of a couple werewolves. I'm less arrogant when Aiden's not around, less confident. Definitely shyer and a pretty good person. I mean, I remember being bullied when I was a kid, not having many friends. Except one. But he doesn't remember me as that little kid. That one person is Danny, who I feel like I owe infinitely and the only person I'm sure I'll ever love fully. Aid was always the one with many friends. He doesn't even know the real connection I have to Danny. That's the life we lived before we moved from Beacon Hills and were bitten. Now we're back and I've been surprised to find Danny still here.

I think of the mission Deuc wants me to do. How can betray him when he's been the one person nice to me? The person to make me realize I'm gay?

"You okay, Eth?" Danny asks and my thoughts shatter.

"What?" I reply.

"You're, um, squeezing my hand really really tight," Danny says.

I look down at our hands and see that I'm breaking up the circulation in our hands because I'm squeezing Danny's hand really hard. "Yeah, just stressed." I manage to say.

"Alright, we're here," Danny says, excitement clear in his voice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones I will put in the disclaimer for that chapter (no OC in chapter 1)! The characters are all the wonderful characters from Teen Wolf (exec producer Jeff Davis).
> 
> AN: I am teenwolfperfection on tumblr and HungerGames138- this is to make sure no one accuses me of copying myself... because that'd be awkwardd..

Danny holds the door open for me and I get out of the car, making sure my fake ID is still in my pocket. I offer an arm to Danny with a smile and we link arms, walking toward the entrance. I take out my fake ID and Danny does the same. When we reach the front of the line, the burly guard stamps my hand, checking my ID. I flash him a smile while he compares my picture to me. The man nods at Danny, so I know he must have come here before. A frequent customer. The guard barks at another man inside to open the doors and let us in.

The club is a whole world its own. I found my heart thumping to the rapid beat of the music. It's dark, with colorful lights swinging in the air, tables off to the side, a bar, and a massive dance floor. Danny grabs my hand and pulls me to the dance floor. The music is unbelievably loud and I can't focus on any sounds except for the sound of the music. Danny's saying something but I can't hear him. I look up briefly at the lights and speakers, and in that time, Danny has disappeared. I start getting a little nervous. Unfamiliar bodies press against mine, sending explosive shudders through my body at the strange touches. The smell of sweat invades through my nose. All these sensations are making me dizzy, the touch, smell of the people, and the strange music, so unfamiliar making me so uncomfortable. I can feel my heartbeat growing faster by the second and as I glance at a mirrored wall, I can see my werewolf eyes already showing. I glance at my hands, claws extended. That's two times in a day I haven't felt it. I can't stay in this place, this loud and crazy abomination. Especially the fact that Danny, my date, has disappeared. 

He's probably off rubbing his body with some strange guy taller than me, a human with no worries about having to hurt a loved one. Someone with a better life than me. How do people even enjoy these clubs anyway? Even though I feel invincible being a werewolf, how can an unfamiliar place like this put me down so fast?

I stumble away from the dance floor and make it to the bar. Slamming down some bills, I order a glass of strong vodka. I know it's harder to get myself drunk, being a werewolf and having a body with a higher tolerance, but I always try the human limit first. Not even after I swig down my first glass, an unfamiliar human settles down in the seat next to me.

His eyes gleam in the colorful lights as he introduces himself as William. "You can call me Will, though."

"Ethan," I respond automatically. 

His blond short cropped hair looks golden and his smile is eerily enticing. He starts to ask questions about myself, which I ignore, gripping my glass. When he asks if I have a boyfriend, well, I guess I was just so upset that Danny abandoned me on the dance floor, that I squeeze too hard and the glass shatters in my hand. A few heads turn my direction, but they seem engrossed in the music. 

"Are you okay?" Will asks. His eyes are wide as he sees the broken shards imbedded in my hand.

"Fine," I grumble. I stand up, heading to the bathroom. I figure I can clean up in there without people noticing the healing process.

The club has made all my senses fuzzy because I don't hear or smell him coming, but suddenly, Danny's grabbing my shoulder, asking if I'm okay. I nod slowly, but then he sees my hand. His eyes and mouth open in shock.

"Eth, oh my God, we have to get those out!" He shouts.

Without a chance to say anything, he grabs my wrists and brings me to the bathroom, where he leads me to the sinks. 

"I can do it myself, Danny," He'll see me healing. This isn't good.

"Let me do it!" He insists. Under normal circumstances, the offer would have been really sweet to hear him say it, but in this situation, I can't let him see my hands while they do their magic.

"I can do it myself!" I snarl, wrenching my wrists from his grip. I can feel the change in my eyes already. He stumbles, almost falling over, but steadies himself before he can land on the floor, flinching and momentarily looking fearful. But he doesn't look surprised.

I am so done playing games.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones I will put in the disclaimer for that chapter (no OC in chapter 1)! The characters are all the wonderful characters from Teen Wolf (exec producer Jeff Davis).
> 
> AN: I am teenwolfperfection on tumblr and HungerGames138- this is to make sure no one accuses me of copying myself... because that'd be awkwardd..

We just stare into each others eyes for a minute, not talking, as my heart beats quickly. Thumpthump...thump... thump. I feel my eyes turn from red to normal as I force myself to breathe slowly, allowing my heart rate to slow.

"Let me do it," he says gently.

I'm still frozen, only eyes able to move, as I watch him reach into his pocket and pull a tweezer out of a pouch.

"These guys got into a bar fight once and I got hit by the debris," he explains, offering me a smile.

He carefully plucks out the glass, tossing the shards into the garbage. I quickly pull my hands away, wincing as the skin heals, but he grabs my hands and thrusts them into the sink, turning on the water in one fluid motion.

The cool stream of water feels wondrous on my still healing skin. I look up guiltily at Danny. Didn't Deuc say Danny knew more than he let on?

"H-h-how-" I start.

"How do I know?" I nod

"Well, when first of all, Scott and Stiles don't know how to talk quietly in the locker room, for one. And anyways, have you seen Scott during lacrosse? One day he sucks and next minute he's co-captain. Don't get me started on the championship lacrosse game from last year. You really think I wouldn't notice my best friend kill himself and Scott clearly knew something. When Jackson returned my lacrosse equipment once, my gloves were totally ruined."

"Who's Jackson?" I ask with a touch of jealousy that I try to turn into concern.

"Jealous already?" He jokes. "He's my best friend. He used to become this creepy lizard thing and people ran around trying to kill it. Doesn't matter because he's gone now."

"Gone?" I press for more information.

"Mmm, something tells me that you're not Scott's friend... so I think I can keep that secret for him," Danny replies, turning off the water in the sink.

I growl at him and he doesn't even flinch. He knows I won't hurt him. He actually has the gall to laugh.

"I never thought I'd have such a jealous boyfriend and a protective one. Never a dangerous one. And especially not a werewolf. Eth, I know you won't hurt me," he tells me.

"You don't know me, then," I say coldly, reflecting my own misery.

"Sure, Eth. I know that you and Scott aren't friends. Maybe some werewolf pack rivalry? I'm pretty observant, too. You and Aiden must be alphas, though I'm not sure if you're targeting Lydia and me, or something else entirely."

"I-I-It's not- I'm not- Danny," My words stumble as I try to start a sentence correctly.

"Until I find out what the hell you're trying to do, I'll just do as my heart tells me, and my personal craving. Even though I know it could get me killed. Anyways, continuing with how I know, every time something goes wrong at school, I'm sure more than half have to do something with Scott."

I can't think of anything to say. I'm relieved that I don't have to lie to him, or even have to explain the truth. I'm hurt he doesn't fully trust me, but he's right in thinking Lydia and him are targets. Anyways since that motel last week, I owe Scott. Now I do again, to avoid having to tell Danny. I still don't have anything to say so I do the impulsive move and grab Danny, kiss him. I get lost in the kiss, enjoying just the sweetness of our lips- and of knowledge, Danny knowing the truth. He pulls away briefly to sit on the sink counter and we resume our kissing. The kiss, so, so, so sweet, and during it I feel like we're letting go of our fears. We are together. We are inseparable. Even when we're not kissing, I'll know he's mine.

My heart races uncontrollably again and I know my eyes are flashing red dangerously as he caresses my face and kisses my neck.

"Danny, stop," I say.

He stops abruptly and looks at my face, takes in my eyes. He grabs my hands which are healed by now and looks in wonder at my claws. My heart's still beating so fast that they're still out.

"Is it always going to be like this, Eth?" He asks, teasingly. "You don't have to stop every time, you know that, right?"

"I don't want to hurt you by accident," I mutter.

"If you do, I'm sure it won't be an accident," he says seriously. He lightens up a bit and says, "But let's just enjoy tonight. Why don't we go back to the dance floor?"

"I'm not sure I can, the experience was disorienting," I reply.

"Well, this time you'll be with me," Danny says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out bandages.

He sees my puzzled look and says, "People saw you crush that glass, right? Theoretically, you shouldn't be able to heal so fast. We just need some blood..."

He grabs a knife and makes a small slit across his palm, wincing. Blood flows immendiately and he holds back a cry of pain. I protest, extending my claws in position, ready to slash my hand. But the deed is done and he spills blood onto a bandage.

"Danny..." I start, "don't hurt yourself for me. I can heal fast and it's not as painful."

"It's my fault for leaving you, and you got hurt," he replies through gritted teeth.

Shaking, he sticks the bandage on my hand. "Next one," he orders. He presses his palm against the next bandage, put I pull his hand back, slit my own palm with my claws and let the blood drip. It heals almost immediately, as the cut wasn't deep.

"You need a bandage now," I say, worriedly.

He pulls another bandage out of his pocket, and asks me to do it for him. Gently, I put the bandage on his hand, and I see that his cut is relatively deep- probably by accident, but possibly on purpose. I put my hand on his, as if reassuring him.

A while back, I discovered that I could relieve some pain for people by taking the pain in myself. I guess it's a werewolf thing. I'm not sure if Aid knows, since I didn't show him and he thinks more along the destruction aspect of being a werewolf. I figured it out one day when one of my friends got injured. Helping her up, I really wanted her to stop crying, wishing I could take away the pain and it worked. It kind of scared me so I never did it again.

When I put my hand on his, I imagine taking away his pain, and I see the black blood in my hands as I take in the pain. The look of relief on Danny's face is my reward.

"How did you do that?" He gasps.

"Another werewolf perk," I say.

"Must be nice to help the helpless humans."

"You could call it that... but my pack isn't exactly keen on helping humans. Or other werewolves."

"Like Scott. And Stiles," Danny suggests.

"Yeah, sure. Now do you want to get back on the dance floor or what?"

Giving me a light kiss, Danny grabs my arm and we head out of the bathroom back onto the dance floor.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please comment/ give kudos!

Danny opens the door and music floods to my ears. Wincing at the sudden loudness (heightened senses sometimes really do suck), I step out of the bathroom with him. Danny still looks at me with concern.

"You sure you want to go back to dance?" He asks me.

"Well, no, not really," I reply honestly.

"Why don't you go sit back at the bar a little bit more? I'll be nearby so when you want to dance, you can join me on the floor," Danny suggests.

I smile at the idea and tell him to go. I watch his hand slip out of mine. Probably into some unfamiliar person's shirt. Ugh. Maybe I should follow him. But I don't.

I sit down at the bar again. Fifteen more bucks are slammed onto the counter as a buy a bottle of beer. I turn around so I face the dance floor, away from the counter and clutching my bottle. Taking a swig, my eyes sweep the edges for Danny.

My eyes land on him and a human sits down next to me. It's Will again.

"Hey, is your hand alright?" He asks.

"Yeah," I say, still staring at Danny,

"Who ya looking at?" Will asks. He follows my gaze and sees Danny. He whistles loudly. "Whew! Hot alert!"

I look over at Will and his eyebrows are raised. Checking Danny out. Glaring, I turn back to stare at Danny. A guy is trying to get his attention and grabs Danny's shoulder, spinning him around. Facing the guy, Danny looks him over. Up and down his eyes go. The other guy takes it as an invitation to put his arms around Danny's neck. I'm seeing this mysterious human's arms circling around Danny and I almost lose it, but I grit my teeth and keep watching. They're bobbing along, moving their hips to the music when the other guy pulls Danny in and kisses him. Danny. Doesn't. Pull. Back. What the hell.

"Ooh, that's too bad," Will comments next to me.

I say nothing and watch as I watch Danny pull away slowly. I can't read what he's saying. The music's deafening enough that if I focus on just their conversation, I'm sure my brain will explode.

Danny turns away from the person as another guy approaches him. Danny bounces in rhythm to the music, rubbing his hot body against the other human. I grip my bottle hard with my fist, but I know I can't afford to break another item in my hands. When I look up at Danny again, the human is running his dirty little hands dangerously around Danny's hips.

"Why don't you join him?" Will asks me.

"I-I'm not really one for clubs," I answer.

"Then why are you here?" He asks, confused.

"For the drinks," I joke, "and because I was looking for a way to get away from the stress."

"Well, dancing over there is a great stress reliever," Will replies. "If you're not going to dance with him, I think I will."

I say nothing as William approaches Danny. Danny quickly detaches himself from his previous dancing partner as Will approaches, also looking him up and down. As if satisfied, Danny starts bobbing to the music again and soon enough, Will's arms are going around Danny's bod, his neck, shoulders, sides, chest. I frown and growl under my breath in both frustration and anger.

Part of its jealousy, I'll admit it. I don't want to see Danny with another guy. I don't want to see Danny's arms around someone else. His mouth to someone else's lips. Then there's the lust. To have the same experience as Danny. I do wonder how it feels like to be lost in the music and bodies on the dance floor. It's not just that sometimes I wish I didn't have werewolf conflicts and all that stress from my "family". The fact that I might have to hurt Danny is what really gets me from the unfortunate stressing situation. But watching Danny now, none of that matters to me. Just the fact that I'm not next to Danny on the dance floor, his body rubbing warmth into mine, his arms at my hips, my lips kissing his neck. My lust for him is overpowering.

Looking at him again, Danny's back is to William and Will's kissing his shoulders. I snarl again, but this time I'll do something about it. I slam down my beer.


	5. Chapter 5

Striding over to the dance floor, several humans try to grab me, but I'm only interested in one. I shake them off violently and walk straight up to Danny. 

"Will," I say sweetly, "why don't you go find another dance partner? This one's mine."

"No thanks," he replies, grinning at me. "As I recall, I was here on the dance floor with him first."

A low growl escapes me. 

"Eth," Danny warns, looking at me full in the face trying to look threatening, but I can tell he's scared. He moves to stand between us, putting his hands on my shoulders. 

"No, no, I see," Will shouts over the sudden rise of the music's volume around us. "This guy here wants a fight."

"Ethan!" Danny shouts, too. "Don't! Please don't! You know you might end up killing him!"

"Killing me?" Will scoffs. "He won't even land a blow!"

I can't help myself as I move around Danny and punch Will straight in the face. A glorifying crack sounds. The crowd around us parts at the commotion. Apparently fights happen a lot here, though, because they continue dancing. Will gets up, holding his nose. I prepare to punch him again.

"Ethan! Stop! Please, if you love me stop!" Danny pleads desperately.

My eyes flash red as he begs to me. He grabs my shoulders to stop me from punching Will and reflexively, I slash at his arm. His eyes widen in shock, as my claws slash his skin. As blood begins to immediately gush out, I'm jarred back to normal. 

"E-Ethan," he stammers, stumbling back. 

"Oh my God, oh my God," I repeat over and over. "Danny, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Will takes this time to land a blow to my legs. I collapse on the floor, but not because of his kick. Wracked in sobs, I just sit on the floor. 

I don't look up as Danny settles down next to me.

"I-It's okay, Eth, I've had worse," he says, putting his arms around me, reassuring me. But it doesn't change the wince and the sound of pain he makes as he puts his arms around me.

"No, it's not," I tell him, miserable. 

I glance at his arm, where blood seeps out at a steady pace. Then I remember his damaged hand from earlier. That's twice he's been hurt tonight. I take his arm gently, and look at the slash. Stroking the area around it, I put my hand down slowly and take away some of the pain.

The pain flows into me, the black blood in my bloodstream. Once again, he looks relieved, gasping as the pain leaves him. I squeeze my eyes tightly as the onslaught of pain comes up my arm.

Lips graze my lips and press in for a kiss. "Thank you, Ethan."

The wound is still bleeding steadily, but I don't know what to do. Something tells me Danny's little bandages can't staunch the flow of blood. 

"Did you wash your...cut... yet?" I ask.

"Not yet," he says. "I guess I'll go now. Wanna come with?"

I take his uninjured hand and we enter the bathroom. Now our roles are reversed as I turn on the faucet and thrust his hand under the cool water. He grins, looking up at me. I wonder he sees in the monster that I am. 

"Ethan, I love you," he says quietly.

"No, shut up. You don't want a guy like me. I'll only make your life worse."

"Stop, Ethan. Stop torturing yourself for my sake."

I've heard that to stop bleeding you can tie a bandage up tightly. Sadly, I don't have a bandage. An idea forms in my head and I cut a piece of my shirt off with my claws. Wrapping the piece around his arm, I tie it tight.

Danny smiles at me. "Thanks. Maybe I won't have to go to the hospital after all."

"If you went to the hospital, how would you explain your cuts?" I ask,

"Oh, yeah, good point," he says.

But then I remember Scott's mother works at the hospital. Surely, she must know about the werewolves running around Beacon Hills. I don't mention it to Danny, though, because it would mean that Scott would know of the accidental attack. I don't need more drama. 

I look at Danny and just smile at him. I don't even know how I managed to win this guy over. At first, I was just manipulating my way into his heart. Now that I've got it, I've completely fallen in love, feeling genuine. He puts his head on my shoulder and looks up at me. 

"When did I get so lucky?" He murmurs. Away from the dance floor again, I can smell his Armani aftershave as he leans on me. I don't know why it draws me to him. 

"Mmmm... I don't know. Part of it's because I was looking for you to like me. Because my leader ordered me to. But then, I stayed. With you, I mean."

"Why'd you stay?" He sounds sleepy. He must be tired and although I took some pain away, he probably still has a lot of pain in his arm.

"Because I started- I-I started to fall in love," I admit. 

He nods and I tell him we should probably get out of the bathroom. I lead him out of the bathroom. His eyes snap open when the music starts to pull him in. Maybe he wasn't tired. Just enjoying being honest with me, I guess.

"Ethan, may I have this dance?" He asks, eyes glinting in mischief. 

I glance around quickly at the people around us. "Why, Danny, I'd love to," I joke.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm not sure how I'd explain my experience dancing with Danny. It was a whole different world, a new adventure. As I got used to the rhythm of the music, I start to bounce up and down. I think of what Aiden would be like in a crowd like this. Always the party animal, I bet he'd be going around and by the end of the night, half the girls in the club would have had their hands down his pants. And he'd be dead drunk coming home too. This makes me chuckle when I think of him and that image. Sometimes, I love my brother.

It isn't long before Danny's hands are around his neck with my hands on his hips as we move to the beat. I kiss his neck, enjoying the soft feel of the skin where my lips graze him. I pull back, a little unsure how he'd react. He just winks at me, now his hands are around my neck, pulling me in for a full kiss on the lips. Luckily the music's up loudly because there'd be no way for him to fell the sigh that leaves my mouth uncontrollable. Now I can see why Aiden likes places like this to "get away".

A human spins me around, wanting to dance. His hips nudge mine teasingly. Ah, what the hell. I came here to have fun. In a brave act, I start dancing with him. I press against his warm body and he grabs my shoulders, kissing my cheek. The kiss engulfs my cheek, neck, shoulder, slowly down to my chest.

I got another grab from behind and another guy has his hands crawl under my shirt, stroking my hard abs below.

"Nuh uh," shouts another human somewhere behind me, shoving the other guy. His arm circles my back, pulling me in and is about to kissed when he's pushed out of the way by another person.

Seriously, what is with these ridiculous people? Aiden's usually the one to get all the attention. Then again, we're identical. I shove the next onslaught of hands around me, but there's many reaching all over me.

When a familiar hand grabs me, I almost cry out in relief and turn toward that one hand's direction. Danny. Several more people cause me to spin off another direction.

"Shove off!" Danny shouts defensively to the people reaching for me.

They don't and soon he's pushed out of the crowd around me.

"Danny!" I yell, brushing off several hands on my hips. I reach a hand toward him and instead of grasping him, ten other hands hold mine. I shake them off and elbow some people out of the way to reach Danny, who's dealing with a crowd of his own. His arm's outstretched and his fingers graze mine.

"Get off!" I hear him yell as people dance away, annoyed. But the people around me stay as thick as before. More than half of them are drunk.

Approaching me, Danny addresses the crowd. "HEY! You all trying to make a move on my friend here? Well, he's not interested in anyone but me."

"Why would he like you?" Scoffs a huge guy near me. He pushes Danny hard, and Danny stumbles.

I surge forward, trying to get to him, but Danny regains his balance anyway.

Almost sweetly, Danny yells at the guy. "Because he's my fricking boyfriend. I think I get the rights to say he's mine."

"Ha, yeah, right, liar! No one's going to believe that claim!" The big man shouts, laughing. A few people around him laugh along.

Rolling my eyes, I grab Danny and put my arms around his neck, kiss him readily. Pulling away for a second, I respond, "Believe it." I wink at the man.

The shocked look on their faces is wonderful. I laugh loudly and pull Danny in for a light kiss. I am interrupted by my cell phone vibrating in my pocket. I take it out and show it to Danny. His face shows that he understands that I have to get off the dance floor for a few minutes. Danny nods and moves away, back into the throng of people, as I move to a less crowded area.

Aiden texted me: R U coming home yet?

I text him back: No.

I wait for the reply. 

Y not?

Busy.

Too busy for me? :( When r u coming home, then?

Soon.

How soon?

I growl in frustration at my phone, even though I know Aiden can't hear me through the phone.

My phone vibrates again. 

R U drunk? ;)

No, shut up.

Should I come pick u up?

NO!

Okay, I'll come pick u up, and I'll bring Kali with me! :P

Rolling my eyes, I call him. He picks up on the second ring.

"Seriously, it's a nice night for a drive!" He says innocently when he picks up.

"No, shut up," I reply.

"You called me," he reminds me.

"That's 'cause you're being annoying," I say.

"It's my job in life," he says. I can imagine his wink and his smile.

"Anyways, I'm fine. I'm not drunk, yet. But I did get into one fight," I tell him.

"Wonderful! Was it over a guy?" He asks, excited. He gasps, "Was it over Danny?"

"Yeah, now stop asking," I say.

Danny comes over to where I'm standing.

"So when are you coming home, then?" Aiden presses.

"I don't know. Never," I reply. He snorts. "Why do you want to know when I'm coming home, anyways?"

"Mmmm because I'm here," a female voice says in the phone. Lydia.

"Hi, Lydia," I say politely. "Put Aid back on the phone, please."

I hear them kiss a few times before Aiden finally picks up again. "She's helping me study, did you know that?"

It's my turn to snort. "Yeah, I'm sure. Well, if she's staying over... maybe I could sleep over at Danny's or something."

He gasps again. "Oh, my dear, scandalous brother. You've never slept with anyone before!" I hear Lydia giggling in the background.

"I didn't see I was sleeping with him. I said I'm sleeping over at his house," I retort.

"'Kay, just be sure to come home soon. We miss you!" He says it in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, right!" I hang up.

I turn to Danny. "You have room for another at your house tonight? My house is already one person extra."


	7. Chapter 7

"Uh, yeah," he replies, grin starting to appear on his face as he realizes that I can sleep over.

"Great," I smile back at him.

I text Aiden back that I'll sleep over at Danny's.

Use protection!

I have the sudden urge to throw my phone against the wall. Have fun with Lydia.

More fun than you will with Danny. :P

Eh, I beg to differ ;)

Oh, the fun we have.

"Why don't we take an early departure and... 'hang out' at your place?" I ask Danny, flashing a smile.

"Sure, I'm all set to leave," he answers.

He laces his fingers through mine and we head toward the exit. Danny waves goodbye to the guard at the door. When we reach the car, I reach for the driver door, but so does Danny.

"You're injured," I point out.

"You had some drinks," he says.

"Werewolves have a better tolerance," I shoot back, an amused look on my face.

"Better safe than sorry," he says.

"I'm still sober," I reply. "Seriously, you're injured."

He thinks about it for a second. "Fine."

I flash him a smile and slide smoothly into the driver's seat. He enters on the passenger side.

"Hope you know what you're doing," he says quietly.

"I promise, Danny, that as long as I'm around, you won't get hurt," I kiss him on the cheek lightly, then lean back into my seat and start to drive.

"Except at the club," he says flatly.

"Yup, except at the club," I answer jokingly.

I drive in silence for awhile. When I reach a traffic light and it turns red, I tap my fingers on the wheel idly. Glancing at the mirror, I see only a single car behind me. This red light is taking an awful long time. Suddenly, the car behind us starts to move dangerously close. Before I can say anything, it crashes into our car.

My eyes wide, I look at Danny in alarm as the airbags inflate around us.

"I'm okay," he says, voice muffled a bit.

"Get out of the car," I instruct, climbing out of the car myself.

Immediately, I know something is wrong as I turn toward the car that caused the accident. Not that it was an accident in the first place.

Scott. Isaac. Stiles. They all climb out of Stiles' car. Those idiots... what do they want with me?

I look at Danny and see that he's as bewildered as I am. He shrugs at me.

"Hello," I say nicely. "Fine night for a drive, isn't it?"

Stiles approaches cautiously, but not too close. "Why don't you come over here, Danny boy? We have... things... to discuss."

Danny looks at me and says, "Nah, I'm alright,"

"What are you doing?" I asks suspiciously, licking my lips.

"Oh yeah, that was an accident," Stiles answers.

"Accident?" I ask. "We both stopped. At a red light."

"Yeah, we had an accident like this before when a crazy Hale took Scott's mom on a date and nearly... kidnapped her," Stiles says. I can't tell if he's joking. "So why don't you, uh, let Danny come over here for a bit?"

"Fine. Danny go with Stiles." If anything, the human boy won't hurt him.

"That's right, big Alpha boy," Stiles teases.

"But..." he starts to protest.

"Go with him," I say more forcefully.

He swallows nervously and looks at me worriedly as he walks toward Stiles. Stiles leads Danny off to the side, behind Scott and Isaac.

"What do you want?" I growl at the werewolves.

"Where's your brother?" Scott asks.

I smile, malice in my words as I say, "Right now? He's with Lydia, believe it or not."

Scott shares a look with Isaac.

"Really," I say, an amused smile crossing my face. I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, dialing Aid.

Tossing the phone to Isaac, we wait.

"What do you want, Eth? I thought we made it clear not to bother each other tonight?" There's some background noise. "Mmm, Lydia, stop, I have to talk to my brother. One sec." Lydia's laugh fills the background.

Scott glances over at Stiles, seeing if he heard, but Stiles is still intent on his conversation with Danny. Isaac hangs up the phone.

"Are you going to send her a rescue team too?" I ask with a smile.

"Why are you with Danny tonight?" Scott asks through gritted teeth.

"We're on a date," I reply calmly. "And you crashed into Danny's car. Are you going to pay for that?"

"Nope," Isaac says. "So, no brother around to morph into mega wolf?"

"I suppose not," I reply.

"Two betas..." Isaac turns to Scott. "I bet we can take the big bad alpha."

"Think about what you're doing in front of Danny," I yell loudly enough for Stiles and Danny to hear. Stiles and Danny both look up. Their hearts are both racing fast.

I know their weakness. They can't do anything with Danny here. They don't know that he knows about werewolves.

I extend my claws and look at them, acting bored. "So what's it going to be? Hurt the big bad alpha now and get your revenge on the pack! But Danny over there gets to ask questions. Don't attack me, let me go free, and know that in your heart, there was a time when you could have killed me? What will it be?"

Looking at Danny, Scott nervously bites his lips.

Isaac has his mind set on me and I can tell he wants to attack me. Extending his claws, he leaps at me.

"NO!" Twin screams from both Scott and Danny.

I duck and Isaac sails over my head. He lands smoothly behind me.

"Isaac!" Scott yells.

"Sorry, Scott, but I want to make the decision this time," Isaac shouts.

I come up with a new strategy. As Isaac swipes at me, I don't dodge. The claws slash into my chest. He swipes repeatedly at me.

"Stop!" Danny screams as he watches me bleed. He starts toward me, but Stiles holds him back.

Scott leaps forward but not at me. He slams into Isaac, pinning him to the ground. "Isaac!"He screams into Isaac's face. I hear Isaac's heartbeat slow.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Scott," he stammers.

Danny runs toward me, now, with Stiles screaming behind him to stop.

My face and chest covered with blood, I collapse to the floor. Danny reaches me, my head in his lap. It's very clear that he's crying. Come on, heal already. But as my eyes start to feel heavy, I already know I'm going to be unconscious, if not dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please give kudos, comments, and bookmark!!! Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

I wake up on a cold metal table, wondering if I'm dead yet. But of course I'm not. Danny's holding my hand and I muster a smile despite the pain. I'm still healing, my wounds not quite fully mended. He's asleep.

"He refused to leave your side," says Stiles, entering the room. "Under normal circumstances, I'd say it's sweet, but since these aren't normal circumstances, so it's sickening."

"No different than Scott with Allison," I respond. "Or Derek and Ms. Blake. Where am I?"

I sit up, groaning in pain a little, looking around the room. Windows line the top of a wall. A few carts carry several tubes of who-knows-what. I hear barks nearby. I collapse back down.

"You're at the vet's office!" Stiles exclaims joyfully, just as I'm coming to that conclusion. "You know, the place where all big bad alphas go to heal."

"Shut up," I snap. "What time is it?"

"Do you want me to shut up or answer your question?" My glare makes him roll his eyes. "It's almost eleven."

"Should I tell my brother what happened?" I mumble, reaching for my phone.

"You know that'd only result in your own scolding for being an idiot and standing there, getting injured." I had forgotten that Stiles was the clever one.

"Fine," I reply.

Scott enters the room, Isaac not in sight, but I know he's still in the building by his smell.

"You'll be healed soon," Scott says as if I don't know. "So, I have to ask. What are you doing with Danny?"

"We're on a date. Well, we were," I say.

"You already know that Lydia is the one that's important to you. So why are you with Danny?" He asks.

"What, is it a crime to like someone? To fall in love?" I say, with a laugh.

"It is when it's you," Stiles tells me.

"Can I punch this clown?" I say, turning and giving Scott a look.

"No," Scott replies.

"Hey, how'd Danny boy get hurt?" Stiles asks, looking at his arm and hand. "Better get a real bandage on him." He's talking about when I slashed his arm.

"Let me do it," I say tiredly.

"Nope, nope, your job is the talking," the idiotic human says smugly. He grabs some bandages nearby and undos the temporary "bandage", also known as a scrap of my t-shirt. His eyes narrow as he sees the wound. Seeing the pleading in my eyes as I look at him, he doesn't say anything to Scott. Stiles glares at me, his eyes saying, You better tell me the story.

Scott doesn't really notice this mental exchange as he looks at me expectantly for the answer to Stiles' question. "He had an... argument," I tell them vaguely.

"How'd you get hurt then?" Stile nods at my hand.

I smile. "Let's just say I got jealous."

"What?" Stiles asks.

"Ah, drop it, Stiles. We have more important questions to ask. Where were you guys driving to?"

"His house, actually. I can't go home because of-" I glance at Stiles and cough weakly, "Aid and Lydia." Stiles looks down, but not surprised. He applies the last bandages to Danny. "She can't help herself with such a good looking guy," I tell him.

"Is that supposed to be a joke since you're identical?" Stiles asks. "Or are you just narcissistic?"

"I guess you'll never know the answer," I say happily.

"He's already been hurt under your watch," Scott notes.

"Mmmm, and your point is?" I ask.

"How do we know you didn't hurt him? With your protection, he has no reason to have gotten hurt."

I chuckle. "Are you complimenting my obvious talent for keeping people safe? We were at a club, for God's sake. A gay club, in fact. It's kind of impossible not to get into a fight over a guy in two hours."

Stiles says to Scott, "So do we let them go? His story's pretty believable."

"Well, he doesn't seem to be lying," Scott remarks. "Even in the best of liars, your heart rate would at least pick up a little bit."

"So, can I go now?" I ask.

"Are you going to hurt him?" Scott says warily. He looks kind of tired.

"No... who the hell hurts someone they care about? Well, at least directly?" I reply.

Scott seems to understand. Problems with Miss Hunter Argent, I wonder? "If another scratch appears on his body, the next full moon, also known as Kali's revenge time, Isaac and I will make sure you and your brother regret ever coming near our friends."

I sit up fully, waking up Danny. "You okay?" He asks, eyes full of alarm.

"I'm fine," I give him a small smile, even though my chest is still rather bloody."

As Danny and I leave through the door, I ask the two boys, "Don't you think a person can change you? Especially when you love them and they love you?"

I stagger out the door. Isaac's in the corner of the front office. When he sees me, he glares. "Scott give you a time out?" I can't help joking. Danny cracks a smile and tells Isaac that I'm joking. We walk out the door, where I note the sign on the door says CLOSED.

"By the way, Scott, Danny already knew."


	9. Chapter 9

Stumbling, with Danny's support, I make it to the car. As I had assumed, the werewolves brought Danny's and Stiles' cars. I look at the damage done to Danny's car.

"I'll pay for it," I say, gritting my teeth and leaning heavily on Danny.

"You are doing nothing of the sort," Danny replies. "You need rest."

"No, I just need time," I tell him. "Nothing's broken so I should be done healing within the hour. But how am I going to go to your house all bloody?" My shirt is soaked with my own sweat and crimson red blood.

"You can climb in through my bedroom window. I'm guessing roofs are no problem for you to climb," he answers. "Oh, and this time, I'm driving."

"No arguments there," I say as he helps me into the passenger seat.

The drive back is silent and all I hear is my fast breathing and the slow, steady thump of Danny's heart mixed with the sound of his inhales and exhales. I groan a few times and reposition myself. Danny looks at me in concern whenever that happens.

"Keep your eyes on the road, kid. Let's at least listen to some driving safety today to avoid more injuries," I say, chuckling, the fifth time he looks at me with worry.

When we arrive at Danny's house, a huge two story, a nice floral collection in the front lawn, I'm pretty much completely healed, at least that's what it feels like. I lift my shirt up to reveal my tan skin, no longer bloody. Perfect.

Danny looks at me in awe, but I'm pretty sure it's not due to my excellent muscles, but because of my healed skin. "You look like Scott the first time he saw Aid and me mor- I mean, the first time he saw Aid and me. Except he looked more scared than awestruck," I tell him.

"Oh... well get out of my car," he jokes, leaning over me to open my car door, his chest across my lap. He looks slightly embarrassed as he pulls back and opens his own door, stepping out into the cool air of night.

I grin and in a swift movement, slide out and close the door behind me. "Which room's your bedroom?" I ask.

He points to the window and I survey possible ledges to get up on his roof. The windows have curtains drawn at the side of his house. There's a small ledge for placing flower pots or something, and although I'm sure they're not meant to hold seventeen year old werewolves, I leap gracefully onto the ledge and onto the roof. I give Danny a little wave as he watches. Running across the roof to his window, I see it's already open, which is great. Giving Danny a little salute, I tumble inside the room, with a somersault landing. My eyes sweep around the room. Messy, with books and clothes all over the bed, laptop on desk. I lie casually on his bed, propping my elbows up with my arms supporting my head. I listen to the conversation Danny will have with his parents, eagerly waiting for him to come upstairs.

"I'm home!" Danny yells.

"Where did you go, Danny?" A male voice says. Either a father or older brother.

"To a friend's house," Danny responds.

"Whose house?" His mother asks.

"A friend," Danny repeats.

"Boyfriend?" Danny's dad , I assume, asks.

Danny says nothing.

"What's his name?" It sounds like a different male voice. This is the older brother.

"None of your business," Danny replies calmly.

"Oh, Danny, I really wish you'd talk to us more," his mom says longingly.

"Well, I'm going to go do some homework, kay? My friend might come over," Danny said, heading up the stairs.

"It's nearly midnight, though!" His father exclaims loudly, a little outrageously.

"Okay, but I mean the friend," Danny says.

"Oh," all three family members say in unison. His mom asks tentatively, "Is there anything we should say to him?"

"No, he'll come through my window. Do me a favor and don't bother me tonight, kay?" Danny tells them, amused at their reaction. He runs up the stairs before they can reply.

Opening the door to my room, he sighs, forehead against the door.

"Sorry about that," Danny says, staring at the door.

"That's alright. I know family can sometimes suck. Family can be distracting around friends, or boyfriends, too." I reply.

I see him grin as he turns around to face me. "I take it you were listening?"

"Good assumption," I say. I pat the space next to me and grabbing a random book- the book we're reading in English class. "Let's get some reading done, why don't we?"

Danny laughs and sits next to me. "My bed's a little messy."

"We have plenty of time for that to get... kicked off the bed," I say rather mischievously. "So what happens in this book?" I open the book and flip through some pages.

"We finished the fifth chapter of the book last week. Shouldn't you know what happened?" Danny asks.

"Not if I didn't do my homework," I say.

"Point taken," Danny replies. He leans over me to grab part of the book. "In this chapter, John dies."

"Really?" I ask, a little sad.

"Nah, I'm just messing with you, there's no one named John in this book, haha," Danny says.

"Oh! I have an idea! Let's prank call Aiden!" I say, leaping up onto my feet. "Where's your phone?"

"In my pocket?" Danny replies, a little confused.

"Oh, right, why am I standing?" I sit down. "Give me your phone."

Danny hands over his phone and I quickly dial Aiden's number, using the private caller option.

"Hello?" Aiden's smooth voice answers.

I deepen my voice and say, "Can I speak to Kali?"

"Um, she's not here right now," Aiden replies. "Can I take a message?"

"Tell her that if she goes after Derek on the full moon, I'll rip your entire pack's throats out."

Silence is on the other line. I hear Aiden hushing Lydia. "Can I ask who this is?" His voice shakes a little bit.

"Tell her that it's Ennis back from the dead. Better yet, Gerard Argent. Your leader will remember him."

"Um, so should I pass the message on to Kali?" Aiden's voice is laced in anger, worry, and a definite amount of fear.

I talk in my regular voice. "No, you idiot. How do you not know a prank call from a real message?"

I can hear him cursing in the background as I laugh with Danny. "I swear, when you get home, I'll rip your throat out," Aiden mutters angrily.

"I'm sure you will, dear brother. I'd like to see you try. Just remember how much you annoyed me today. This was my revenge! Now you can get back to your very important business with Miss Genius Lydia Martin."

He growls at me through the phone, a gutteral wolf growl. "Careful," I say. "Your heart rate's too fast."

I hang up and collapse on the bed laughing. Danny laughs but not as hard as I am. I look up at him and he seems bothered by something.

"What's wrong?" I ask him. I don't get up.

"Who are all the people you mentioned?" Danny asks.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. Trust me, you don't want to get involved," I dodge his question.

"Argent... Is he related to Allison?" Danny can't help being curious.

"Her grandfather, Gerard. It's not important," I explain.

"Are the Argents your enemies?" This boy is too smart for his own good.

"You could say that. But we're a pack of alphas. They don't pose a threat like they do to... Scott..." I say.

"How can there be a pack of alphas? They're like the leaders of a pack, right? How-"

"Danny, are we going to be interrogating each other's history for the rest of the night?" I cut him off.

"No..." he replies, a bit reluctantly.

"Good," I say. "Ugh, let me get this shirt off so I don't get your bed messed up." I slowly and casually slip my shirt off. "That's much better."

Throwing it on the floor beside me, I grab Danny and kiss him. He leans on top of me and my chest tingles slightly. He stops for a second to take off his shirt, throwing it on top of mine. Then, he's kissing me again and it's just so, so, so sweet. We turn over amidst kissing and then I'm on top of him. I get a full whiff of the scent of him, his Armani aftershave, the smell of his sweat and blood, a mix of a fresh delicious lemon smell that often accompanies him.

Gently, I move from kissing his lips to his neck, his chest, my hands brushing against Danny's twin scars. Rolling off him, I lie next to him on the bed. Wincing as my back hits some books, I roll the other direction into Danny.

Laughing, he moves over while I push books off his bed. Propping an elbow behind my head, I look at Danny, smiling.

"How's your hand and arm?" I ask.

"Well, after Stiles fixed it up with real bandages, it's great. Still plenty painful, though. And no, I don't want you take some more pain away. I'm fine, really, nothing I can't handle," he tells me.

"Good," I reply, rubbing a scar lightly on his side.

"I thought of getting a tattoo to cover it up, once," Danny says suddenly.

"Mmmm tattoos... I heard they're painful," I reply.

"You don't have one, then?" Danny asks.

"Nah, and it's hard to get a tattoo. Hurts way more than for humans. You can't do it the normal needle way," I answer.

"How do you get one, then?" Danny asks. He reaches his arm and strokes my hair slowly.

"It's burned into your skin," I say. "Not much fun. We have to be held down, really, or we'd go crazy, I imagine."

"If you got one, what would you get?"

"Maybe my pack symbol, but that can change, you know? Scott has one," I tell him.

"Scott? He didn't do it himself, did he? Then how did he get one?" Danny asks, bewildered.

"I don't know. I'll ask him the next time our pack clashes," I joke.

Danny frowns, but says nothing. He turns so he faces the ceiling. It's my turn to frown. I put my arm around his neck, his shoulder, and pull him closer to me. His heart rate accelerates rapidly.

"Relax," I say. "You should get some sleep. Rest heals the wounded."

He closes his eyes and his heart slows considerably, but I keep my arm around his body, shielding him from the world, protecting him from the possible dangers. How much can I really protect him, though?

"I love you," he mumbles, opening his eyes briefly to glance at me. They close and I can't suppress my grin even though he can't see me.

I give him a smile and whisper back to him. "I love you, too, Danny."


	10. Chapter 10

When I wake up, one of my arms is still around Danny. I have to smile at that. All the books previously on Danny's bed lie scattered on the floor. I stare at Danny's face buried in my chest and I crack a smile. I use my other arm to stroke his hair slowly.

"Danny," I whisper quietly, seeing if he'll wake up. He doesn't respond and I laugh to myself softly. I kiss the top of his head, enjoying the soft feel of his hair. A gust of wind blows through the open window, making Danny's body around me ten times warmer.

With my free hand, I whip my phone out of my pocket. It's 7 AM, Saturday. 50 new messages. All from Aiden. Crap.

I scroll to the oldest messages, starting to read. His first text was around 3 AM.

Did you have a good night away from home? :)

I roll my eyes. My brother is really annoying.

The next one says: We miss you!

I told Kali about your prank call. She was not amused.

The texts go on until the most recent texts from five minutes ago: Grr... if you don't text me back, I'm tracking you and dragging you home.

Calm down, I text back.

Heh, I was kidding, he texts back.

Well, I'm still in bed.

With Danny? :D

Yes.

Heh. It's a Saturday. Do what you want. I'll text you if Deuc/Kali has a message.

I slip my phone back into my pocket. "Danny," I say loudly.

His eyes flutter open and immediately meet mine. He looks down at my arm still around him and smiles. "I believe a beautiful person just called my name," he says, laughing.

"Oh, no, I believe a beautiful person just had his name called," I reply. I laugh along with him.

Hearing some creaking noises outside the room, I tell Danny, "Shh, I hear something outside."

"I don't hear-" he starts quietly.

"I do." As I listen, the person seems to pause outside the door.

"Danny, are you awake?" His dad knocks and calls out.

I assume a smug expression and Danny looks perplexed. "Yeah, I'm awake,"

"Okay, well I'm coming in, kay?" His dad warns.

Shit. I roll off the bed and launch myself neatly through the open window. I glance at Danny who has a surprised look on his face. Awe is also clear. I close the window softly. As his dad opens the door, I whip my head out of sight. It's freezing and I can't help wondering if werewolves can get hypothermia. Damn it, I forgot my shirt on the floor. I hope his dad doesn't notice.

"Can't I get some privacy?" Danny mumbles, acting like his dad just woke him up.

"Did your friend come over?" His dad asks.

"Yes. He did. Now go away, please, Dad. I just want to sleep in," Danny mumbles through some pillows.

"Okay," his dad replies. I can imagine him scanning the room for hidden Ethans. He leaves out the door.

I knock on the window. "Can the hidden Ethans come inside?"

He looks at me with a smile playing on his lips. "Hidden Ethans? I've never heard of such things."

"Their love is contagious, or so I've heard," I respond. "I'm freezing! Please let me in!"

Laughing, he throws open the window and I tumble into his arms. I stand up, brushing myself off.

"How's your hand, today?" I ask.

"It's fine," he replies, not glancing at his hand at all.

"Nice lying to your dad," I say,

"I didn't lie. I said you came over. I didn't say you left," he gives me a coy smile and brings me over to the bed.

"Want to do something fun, today?" I ask, remembering we pretty much have the whole day to ourselves.

"I think you might need to go home and grab a different shirt, though," Danny says, indicating my bloody shirt on the floor.

"Mmmkay. I'll go home really fast then. Want to come?" I say. I scoop up my shirt and put it on. It really is dreadful.

"Well, you can't exactly go out from downstairs..." Danny tells me. Then he thinks and says, "You mean I'm going to go out the window with you?"

"Yuuuup," I reply, dragging out the u. "Grab a shirt. I'm giving you a ride- literally. You're riding on my back."

"Is that safe?" He asks, worried.

"Of course not, I'm a dangerous person. But you're safe with me," I reply. I give him a kiss gently.

He puts on a shirt, looking skeptical. I climb out the window and he follows suit. Out in the slightly chilled air, I instruct him to climb on my back. I hold his legs as I set off at a run, faster than the normal human. Luckily, my house is only about 3 blocks away from Danny's. We arrive there in a matter of minutes.

"Aid, we're home!" I call in a singsong-y voice upon opening the door. I let Danny down on a couch and plop down next to him, waiting for someone to come greet us.

Kali appears at the top of the stairs. "Ethan," she says. I don't like the tone of her voice.

"Hey, where's Aiden?" I ask, heart fluttering nervously at her appearance instead of my brother.

"Won't you give a proper hello to me?" Kali asks, mouth in a pout. In one leap, she jumps from the top of the stairs to the bottom. I am unfazed as she approaches me, stroking the hair near my ear. She whispers, "Are you nervous? Your heart just beat faster."

As my uncontrollable heartbeat quickens, she laughs. She nudges me with her hip and I instinctively move over for her to sit on the couch. That was probably a mistake.

She turns to Danny and purrs, "You're Danny, aren't you?"

I hear Danny's heartbeat pick up as Kali gives him a smile. He takes a deep breath and says, "Yeah. Danny Mahealani."

"I'm Kali," she says, still smiling. "Mmmm... You smell delicious..."

My heart rate increases in sync with Danny's. I snarl at her, "What do you want, Kali?"

"Ethan, honey," Kali turns to me, a sympathetic look in her eyes, "you really don't understand what's asked of you, do you?" Her cryptic words make no sense. "I'm not sure if I should feel worse for Danny or you."

She turns back to Danny, touching his face. Her claws extended, she lightly strokes from the top of his head to his neck. He flinches as her claw slides down, not hard enough to break the skin. I tense up, gritting my teeth. She continues, "You have a pretty little face. I'd hate to see it all clawed up in shreds."

I can't take it anymore. I grab Kali by her midsection and throw her to the left, hard. She just laughs as she flips in midair and lands on her feet.

"Nice to meet you, Danny," she calls as she walks away to the kitchen, off to cackle by herself.

"I'm sorry," I tell Danny. I reach for his face and he flinches when I touch it. I draw my hand back quickly.

"I-it's okay," he says, but the fast pace of his heart tells otherwise. He reaches for my hand instead, squeezing it. I grab him into a hug and instead of him crying, I am. I can't bear the thought of Kali clearly threatening his life.

"Ethan?" A voice says from upstairs softy. It's Aiden. "Are you okay?"

Suddenly, he appears at the top of the stairs, shirtless. He's holding hands with Lydia, who has her head turned, looking at us quizzically. Aiden lets go of her hand to leap down the steps in the same fashion Kali had. I smell Lydia all over him.

As I wipe the tears away, I tell him I'm fine. Kali casually walks in the room from the kitchen, with a cup of coffee. My eyes flash at her angrily, red for sure. Aiden follows my gaze and frowns.

"Kali," he says. "I understand Ennis died, but you don't have to be like this to Eth, just because he's found someone he actually likes."

I grin in contempt as a shocked look comes across her face. Her fangs snap out as she snarls at him. She throws her coffee cup at Danny before storming out of the room. Calmly, Aiden grabs the cup midair before it hits Danny. A little coffee splashes on top of Aiden, though and he cries out in pain of the burning liquid. Silence fills the room as no one knows what to say.

"Hello, Danny," Lydia says, giving him a little smile.

"Hi, Lydia," Danny replies softly. I put an arm around him protectively. "We just came because Eth needed to change his shirt."

Aiden's eyes sweep over me. "What happened to you?!" He exclaims, eyes wide.

"Nothing," I say. I lift up my shirt to reveal my skin. "All is well."

Aiden quickly glances at Danny and Lydia but neither react. Lydia must know about werewolves, too. I bet, since she's friends with Scott and Allison, she's been told.

Aiden looks suspicious. He strides over to me, grabbing my shirt. He inhales sharply and looks up at me, searching for an explanation. "I may have taunted some people," I say.

His eyes turn red in anger. "I'm going to slash them apart the next time I see them!" He shouts.

I sigh loudly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Aid. It's not their fault. It was totally my fault because... Danny's car broke down."

"You're lying!" He snarls. I forgot we're technically lie detectors.

I roll my eyes. "After they crashed into me, I taunted Isaac into attacking. And you already try to slash them apart, except in school. Besides, I'm not going to let you attack them in school."

"You wouldn't stop me," he growls.

"I would," I reply calmly.

He grabs the front of my shirt lifting me up few feet, glaring into my eyes. His extended claws rip my shirt. "Aren't you worried for my welfare?" I ask. "Put me down, Aid. What's a few slashes in school really going to do. Save it for when we have to... you know..." I mean to say when we have to go against Derek's pack and Scott.

Aiden lets me go, breath quick. "Relax, Aid," I say, grabbing him in a hug. "I'm fine. I'm not hurt."

His claws retract as he starts to breathe normally. "Go upstairs with Danny," he mutters. He pulls out of the embrace and puts an arm around Lydia.

"Come on, Danny. You heard the man, we're going upstairs."


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you really okay, Danny?" I ask when we enter my room. I navigate around the piles of clothes and papers on the floor, sitting on the bed.

"Yeah... it's just... everything's been so fast the last two days and definitely dangerous," he says, sitting down next to me looking defeated or at least weary.

"Yeah, well, my life's like this all the time, dangerous. It makes me feel like everything is a game," I reply, knocking some papers off my bed so I can lie down.

"What about us, then, Ethan?" Danny has a pained look on his face.

"If it were a game, I'd have to say that love is a dangerous game to play," I say quietly. "Who knows if this is a game? All I know is that I love you and I can say that honestly."

He gives me a half smile and leans down to kiss me. It's a nice, long kiss that tastes as close to love as you can get. With him on top of me, I feel like there's no way we could get closer.

A rapping at the door makes him pull away. "Aiden wants to know if you want to go on a double date today." Lydia's voice rings out loudly.

I look at Danny. "You up for that?"

"Sure," he says. "Where are we going?"

"We haven't decided yet. When you finish snogging each other, you can come downstairs and help us decide." Her heels click on the hard floor as she walks away.

"Right, I have to change. I forgot," I say.

I pull a black shirt with three buttons off my bed, lift my shirt up and put the new shirt on. Walking to my closet, I look over a selection of jackets. Selecting a black leather jacket that would go great for if I'm riding my motorcycle.

Danny looks away as I grab a pair of dark denim jeans and put them on, completing my dark look. "Oh, Danny, I don't mind if you watch." I say with a lighthearted laugh.

When I finish dressing, Danny says, "Let's go downstairs and pick where we're going."

I take his hand as we head downstairs. Lydia and Aiden are already holding hands on the couch, looking expectantly at us. I take a seat along with Danny at a couch opposite theirs.

"The options so far are bowling, swimming, a movie, or just walking through the park," Lydia says.

As we consider the options, Kali appears again near the kitchen. Aiden turns to look at her. "What's up, Kali?"

"I'm going out, now, visiting someone. I need you two on Monday. I'm giving a surprise for a person I've come to hate... and like," she says, giving us a razor sharp smile. Immediately, I know the surprise is for Derek. She won't tell us the plan with Lydia, here, but a icy, rigid feeling takes over me, making me shiver slightly. She walks gracefully out the door with her bare feet. Danny and Lydia don't even bat an eye at the sight.

A silence fills the room until Lydia says, "I don't want to go bowling."

"Why not?" Danny asks.

Lydia looks at the floor with a sigh. "I-I-I went with J-J-"

"Oh, then let's not go bowling," Danny interrupts, not letting her finish. I wonder who Lydia was talking about. An ex-boyfriend she isn't over yet, maybe? Whoever they are, Danny clearly knows them too.

"Well, I don't want to see a movie," Aiden replies. "There's never anything good out."

"You mean nothing action-y enough for you?" I ask. "Nothing ever seems bloody enough."

"Sure, let's go with 'not bloody enough,'" Aiden says, with a white toothed smile. I envision someone's blood on his teeth and I look away instantly.

"So swimming or park?" Lydia inquires.

"I vote park," I say. "It's a bit cold for swimming."

"Yeah, but it's indoor. We'll be fine. I vote swimming," Aid says.

"Swimming's fine with me," Lydia says.

"Well, since things seem to go wrong every time we're outside or something," Danny starts, "I think I'll pick pool too."

"Sorry, Eth, you're outvoted," Aiden says. He doesn't look sorry at all.

"I think I'll go home and change, then," Lydia tells us. She walks outside to her car and waves goodbye.

"We'll take my bike to your house after I change then," I say to Danny.

"Sure," Danny says.

After I change into my swim trunks, pulling on a t-shirt over it, I'm zooming along on my motorcycle with Danny holding onto my waist. I strangely have a flashback of a time a few weeks ago when I was chasing Isaac and a girl who rescued him. Deuc killed her at school in the end, but we got injured. I remember scratching their motorcycle, morphing into our bigger wolf form. That was one painful but enjoyable night, at least at the time.

When we arrive, Danny goes into his house while I eavesdrop on his conversations with his family as usual.

"When did you leave?" Danny's dad asks. Whoops. I forgot that Danny left with me through the window.

"A few hours ago. Apparently, I wasn't gone long enough for you to notice," Danny replies.

"Oh, Danny, honey, don't say that," his mom says sadly.

"Well, I'm going out a bit longer today," Danny replies without sympathy for his family.

"Where ya going?" It sounds like a little boy. I didn't think Danny would have a younger brother.

"Out with a friend," Danny replies. I hear him walk up the stairs. He whispers, knowing I can hear, "My family asks too many questions. I'll be down in a sec."

When he walks back down the stairs, his younger brother asks, "Who are you going with wherever you're going?"

"He's my friend," Danny replies.

"His boyfriend," Danny's older brother adds.

"Boyfriend?" His little brother asks. I take it his brother is too young to understand that he's gay.

"Yes, my boyfriend. I keep trying to explain to you, Al, but I guess you don't understand. He just moved here," Danny says.

"What's his name?" His older brother asks too fast.

"Ethan. Now that's all you're getting out of me. I'll be back later," Danny says. I see him open the front door. He gives me an apologetic smile as he sees me, heading toward me. His older brother, I'm assuming, calls him back. I can tell he just wants a good look at me.

"You forgot your jacket," his brother says simply, handing him his jacket. "By the way, you chose nicely."

"You haven't even seen everything," Danny replies, giving his brother a wink. His brother shakes his head and walks back to the house.

Laughing, Danny crosses his lawn and says, "Ready to go?"

Going back to my house to meet up with Aid and Lydia, I think, What could possibly go wrong with a perfect day like this?

Thinking that was probably a mistake.


	12. Chapter 12

"Ready to go? We're taking Lydia's car," Aiden says when we get back to our house.

"We're all set to go," Danny says.

"Wait, I need to talk to you for a sec Eth," Aiden says, pulling me to the side.

"What is it, Aid?" I ask, slightly annoyed.

"You need to remember that you have a mission, Ethan. You don't just go frolicking off with some human," he says.

"I'm not," I reply, defiant.

"Pretend this is a game, that love is all a game. Then you remember that Deucalion set the rules down. Seduce and destroy the important one. Make them spill their secrets. That's it, Ethan, no real love, no real sex," Aiden scolds.

"Whatever," I say offhandedly. I walk back to Danny.

I hold the door open for Danny as Aiden does for Lydia, glaring at me. I give him a smirk. He rolls his eyes, settling in the driver's seat. As he drives, he keeps looking at the rearview mirror, trying to glimpse our interaction. I grab Danny's hand, squeezing a little too hard. Danny raises an eyebrow but says nothing as he holds my hand.

When we arrive, we quickly strip off into our pool clothes. Today the pool is pretty much deserted. One or two people swim laps, but there's no kids in the shallow side or any daring teens on the diving board. Aiden carries a shrieking Lydia, throwing her into the pool and following with a cannonball. With a whoop, he leaps into the pool. I glance at Danny, an amused look on my face. He looks at me expectantly, as if asking who should go in first.

In reply, I smile and lift Danny up like he weighs like nothing and throw him into the water. He resurfaces spluttering and I give him a huge grin as I jump, flipping in the air, landing beside him, splashing Lydia, Aiden, and him.

"Showoff!" Aiden shouts, as if issuing a challenge.

"Bring it on!" I yell.

"You asked for it!" He screams back at me.

We have a competitive nature, I suppose. Luckily, not many people are around because when Aiden and I get competitive, we really mean it.

I watch as Aiden climbs out of the water and onto the ledge. Even though the floor says "No Jumping", he leaps forward, flipping midair and landing a few feet farther than I had previously landed. He resurfaces, spitting water, and grinning. He yells in triumph and Lydia and Danny laugh.

I decide a diving board would be more appropriate for beating Aiden. Selecting the highest diving board, I jump off the end, fearless and sailing through the air. I flawlessly perform a flip and dive as the water rushes up to meet me. The impact is relatively strong, hitting me hard. When I resurface, I'm laughing. I give a wink to Danny as powerful strokes propel me over to shallower water where my brother and our dates can stand.

"Fine, you win," Aiden grumbles, not looking too happy about it. He splashes water in my face in anger. I end up choking on the water, gasping for air, but laughing. I just splash back. I feel the water as if it were my own lungs, too, because Aiden and I are just connected like that. I guess it's a failsafe for if we're separated and one of us gets hurt. It makes me feel like we're just one soul split in two bodies, but he got the temper and the more aggresive genes.

Suddenly, Danny and Lydia simultaneously splash us with water and a massive water fight ensues. Lydia's shrieking in laughter, Danny's ducking into the water to avoid Aidan's splashing, and we're all generally having a good time. I'm laughing like never before.

Suddenly, I sense a change in the air, as does Aid, as he looks up at me. We both glance up. It's Allison with her father. My eyes widen at the sight of the two Hunters. Allison approaches the pool, laughing, probably at a joke her father tells her.

"Hey, Allison!" Lydia calls out. And now it gets complicated.

Allison looks up in surprise, waving at Lydia. Allison stops when she sees us. Her mouth opens in slight shock, but bites her lip before turning back to her dad. The father Argent is looking right at us. Hopefully he won't do anything with Danny and Lydia around. Allison swallows nervously, reaching for her phone and sending a text probably to Scott.

"Pick me up at three, 'kay, Dad?" Allison tells her father.

"Okay, Allison," he replies, giving me a glare that carried to Aid as well. He must know who we are. He also knows Aid and I won't hurt Allison with Her friends around.

She approaches the edge of the water, but her phone rings before that. She walks back to her phone as her dad leaves.

Answering it, she says, "Yeah, never mind. I'm okay. No, you don't need to..." She pauses, looking annoyed. Her face screws up angrily and she replies, "I can take care of myself. You should know that, Isaac! No, you don't need to tell Scott! Ugh!" She tosses her phone on a nearby seat in slight agitation.

Giving a tight smile, she approaches the pool. Lydia wades toward her and we follow her, slowly, but carefully. I look behind me, at Danny, and see that he isn't following. I stop for a second and give him a questioning glance.

"Isn't there some bad blood between you guys and..." He trails off, knowing that I understand that he's talking about the Argents, Allison in this situation.

I give him a grin. "Don't worry, it's Allison. Besides, Aid won't do anything with Lydia around. Hopefully," I reply. I walk as fast as you really can in water and grab his arm. "C'mon, Danny!"

He gives a tight smile, but starts walking. All I can think about is: this not going to go as well as I just tried to convince Danny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Please comment/give kudos! I know this chapter is short... but holds some excitement... More to come soon! Oh wait, I just realized tomorrow is double chapter Monday and I have 2 hrs of Trigonometry and PSAT stuff. I still didn't do my summer reading either...Save my soul!


	13. Chapter 13

"Danny, twins," Allison nods politely in our direction. "Can I talk to you, Lydia? Alone?" She shoots Aiden a withering stare until Lydia responds.

"Yes, Allison," Lydia says with a tight smile. She turns toward us and waves us off.

"We can, uh, go into the deeper side," I say loudly. I gesture for Aiden to move toward the deeper end with the flick of my head. Danny says nothing as I pull him in the direction of the deeper waters. I wait until Aiden follows us, which he does rather reluctantly, pulling Danny with me. "No eavesdropping, Aid," I tell him quietly.

He gives me a wicked grin. "I can do what I want. It's not like I can stop listening anyways." He's caught up to me, shoving my shoulder forward.

"Danny, Aiden, Ethan," Allison nods politely in our direction. "Can I talk to you, Lydia? Alone?" She shoots Aiden a withering stare until Lydia responds.

"Yes, Allison," Lydia says with a tight smile. She turns toward us and waves us off.

"We can, uh, go into the deeper side," I say loudly. I gesture for Aiden to move toward the deeper end with the flick of my head. Danny says nothing as I pull him in the direction of the deeper waters. I wait until Aiden follows us, which he does rather reluctantly, pulling Danny with me. "No eavesdropping, Aid," I tell him quietly.

He gives me a wicked grin. "I can do what I want. It's not like I can stop listening, anyways." He's caught up to me, shoving my shoulder forward.

"What, Allison?" Lydia asks, annoyed.

"Lydia, we told you not to hang out with Aiden. The twins are trouble. You know they're alphas. Why would you hang out with them when you know they're out to get you?" Allison says.

"Allison," Lydia says. "I told you I needed a distraction. Jackson, remember?"

"I know, but it's been a long time!" Allison replies, agitated.

"Well, I'm still not over him, okay? I loved him and now he's far away in England!" Lydia tells her, voice shrill.

"You can find someone else, Lydia," Allison says tiredly.

"I know you're worried about me, but honestly, it sounds like Cora sent you," Lydia says. I can imagine her rolling her eyes. "She told me the other day I need a better choice of boyfriends."

"Really? What'd you say?" Allison asks, laughing.

Lydia shrugs. "I told her my last boyfriend was a homicidal lizard so I could handle a werewolf."

Allison laughs loudly and even Danny turns to look at her. I think he understands that we're listening to Lydia and Allison's conversation as he hasn't said anything this whole time.

There's a shift in the air all of a sudden. Werewolf. It's Isaac walking casually toward Allison, in a white T-shirt topped with a leather jacket and jeans.

"Hey, that's not proper swimwear!" I yell jokingly, smiling at him. It's better to keep the tension in the air contained. "That's not allowed here! There are pool rules!" Even Allison and Lydia laugh at my joke, along with Aiden and Danny. But Isaac just rolls his eyes.

"If I recall, slashing claws at a motorcycle while innocent people ride, isn't exactly legal either," Isaac says back.

"You broke into our bank," I tell him.

"And your pack killed both Erica and Boyd," Isaac retorts.

"Derek killed Ennis," I say, not skipping a beat.

"Self defense," Isaac replies. "While you were trying to kill Scott and me."

"It was self defense when Erica was killed. Her fault for attacking Kali," I shoot back.

"And Boyd?" Isaac raises his eyebrows.

"Persuasive measures," Aiden replies for me. "Now what do you want? We are trying to enjoy a nice double date at the swimming pool."

Scott and Stiles walk in where Isaac had come in from. Stiles face immediately goes from calm to surprised.

"Oh my God," says Stiles. "You called us for a pool party, Isaac?"

Aiden snorts and says, "It's a double date, genius. Until Allison and Isaac came."

"Is there a problem?" I ask innocently to our new guests.

Scott looks at Allison. Allison protests, "I told him he didn't need to call you! I just wanted to talk to Lydia." She looks at Isaac.

"And I wasn't going to have you talk to Lydia without protection with those two around," Isaac replies calmly. Allison sighs and looks at Scott as if to say You see what I mean?

"Hey, Danny boy, can you please stop hanging around with those two. They're... highly dangerous," Stiles says. "Isn't there anyone a little more attractive than your buddy there for you to hang out with?"

"I think I'm pretty aware of what I'm getting into," Danny says carefully.

"What about my cousin, Miguel? Remember him? Want to hang out with him again?" Stiles asks hopefully, desperately.

"Who's Miguel?" I ask, slightly curious, but jealousy shows, too.

"Never mind," Stiles replies.

"No one important," Danny says, giving Stiles a glare.

"But-" I start.

"Okay, no fighting in the pool, alright? I'm pretty sure it's in the pool rules somewhere," Allison says.

"Well, then I guess I'll have to get out of the pool," Aiden says.

Who was I to think nothing could go wrong with a double date at a pool? And if there's one thing I have learned in life, it's that Aiden mind works very differently from mine.


	14. 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH! I didn't realize that I didn't post the last chapter! I hope some of you already read it on fanfiction.net ! Anyways, I had so much fun writing the fanfiction. Please leave kudos and/or comments!

"Aiden, please," I say. "Stop. You're not going to solve anything by attacking them."

Lydia swims over to us. "Aiden, don't fight them, please. They're my friends and they're Danny's friends too. Don't you see that by hurting them, you're hurting us, and if you get hurt, I'll be even more upset?"

Aiden looks down at Lydia, while she pleads holding his face so he looks at her. "I-I-I," he stammers. "Only for you, Lydia."

"Well, finally a happy ending!" Stiles exclaims. "Now can we please leave before Aiden changes his mind?"

"Isaac, let's go," Scott calls. "Allison..."

"Coming!" Allison replies, boosting herself out of the water.

Isaac glares at us as they leave. "Can I at least get to fight them later?" he asks.

"No promises. Let's just get out of here," Scott says.

Lydia sighs in relief. "That was seriously life threatening!" She announces.

I turn to Danny, not caring much about Lydia as Aiden reaches for her. "Danny, I'm sorry this is so complicated... And I'm sorry I dragged you into the mess you shouldn't have gotten into. Normal teenage boys aren't supposed to date abnormal teenage werewolves... and I understand if you won't want me anymore," I tell him.

He stares at me, face serious, then lets out a laugh. I must look pretty puzzled because he says, "Ethan, you honestly think I would just break up with you? Because you're a werewolf? It's true I was scared for you and your brother before, but... I've never had such a thrilling time with a boyfriend before. I've never worried like I did just before and I guess it just goes to show how much I care for you. I love you, Ethan."

I can't help but smile as I put my arms around him and kiss him hard, my hands in his hair. I pull away slightly and say, "Well, we're not making a marriage proposal here, but I love you so much."

He gives me a big smile and kisses me again. Even with the chlorine of the pool, I am overwhelmed by the smell of him, his lemony smell, a hint of chocolate in his mouth. I don't care what he smells like, though. I just love him for being... well, Danny.

-/-/-/-

Glancing back at our sleeping dates, I say, "You like her, don't you?" We're driving back to Aiden and my apartment. "You never would have stopped the fight otherwise."

Aid's mouth twitches slightly, but I continue. "Who was the one telling me to stay away, hmm?" I take one hand off the wheel and poke him jokingly, making his laugh give way.

"I-I can't explain it," he says. "We've been following orders for so long... I mean, this time I want her. I don't want to follow orders and just give it my all. But we owe it to Deuc, Ethan, we really do. All we've ever done was to get into the pack and please him. And I feel like I still want to please him, no matter what the cost. I think I can always find someone else, moving on with the pack. I mean, Kali hasn't gotten too bad after Ennis died. I want to stay in the pack, live as an equal."

"But we're still the omegas, Aid, don't you get that? And Kali, Deuc, they don't remember being a teenage werewolf, falling in love. I just want to be normal! I want to be a normal teenager and even go to high school, although high school sucks, but still be able to carry out my duties. With this alpha pack, I can't have it both ways. Think about it, though, we've hurt too many people. When the time comes for me to leave the pack to live the life I want, I'll leave you behind if you don't follow," I retort, swerving around several cars.

"Y-Y-You'd leave me?" He sputters.

"I would, if it means I get to be with Danny," I tell him quietly, but honestly.

I hear him sigh next to me. "Would you really leave me?"

"Yes, Aiden, I really would. To be with Danny. To not kill innocent people- or werewolves for that matter. I'm so tired of being told what to do. Aren't you just so exhausted?" I say, not taking my eyes off the road.

"Tired of being told what to do? Well, I don't know what I'd do with my life if I was free. Why would I want it different? What else don't you like?" He replies. He seems a bit confused. Maybe a bit naive to the actual life we live- the one where we do our duties and nothing else.

"I want to stop lying!" I say, a bit loudly. Aiden glances back to see if we've awoken Danny and Lydia. Lowering my voice, I tell him, "I want to stop lying. I want to stop living in a lie! And I don't want to play this... this game anymore!"

"What do you mean?" Aid asks.

"Thi-This game we play to those two in the back. We pretend like they're everything. We're told to think like they're nothing. They make us feel like... like no one else in the world is like them, that no one else matters when they're holding our hand or kissing us. But then, we're supposed to feel like they're just toys, tools, part of a mission. And I think it's killing me." I feel tears welling up in my eyes, rolling down my cheeks. I don't think I've ever cried in front of Aiden. "I can't keep living this way. A-a-and," my voice cracks and I start to stutter, "my heart's breaking in half. I feel horrible."

"Ethan..." Aiden starts, hesitating. "Pull over. Pull over now."

My body reacts before my mind does and I'm pulling over before my brain seems to comprehend what Aiden's telling me. Mind hazy, I can't think straight, but suddenly, Aiden's hugging me. Although he's not crying, his shirt's wet. Then I remember it must be my own tears soaking his shirt.

"It's going to be okay, Ethan. Everything's going to be alright. You'll find a way out of this," Aiden tells me, comforting.

Something's off, though. He told me I'd find a way. "What about you?"

"Look, I don't even think Lydia even really likes me. With Danny... your love is mutual, which is, like, so obvious, but Lydia... I don't know who her ex-boyfriend is, but she certainly isn't over him. And Stiles is clearly after her. And running away has never been my forte. I believe in Deucalion and our pack... but I'll accept it if you leave, too. You're my brother, and I love you, but there's just some things I need to find out for myself," Aiden tells me, confident and unafraid.

"I think I'll sleep over at Danny's today, if that's okay," I say.

"Yeah, you can stay there until this gets figured out. It'll be better, okay? I swear it to you," he replies. I know he means it. "But you better return the car to Lydia when we get back home."

"Fine, whatever. Home? You mean that apartment we own? Sorry, Aiden, but that's not my definition of a home," is all I say, wiping the tears of my face fiercely.

-/-/-/-/-

After driving Aiden and Lydia back home and changing my clothes, I decide to just carry Danny back to house. Throwing a jacket over him, I thank the Lord Danny's shorts have dried. It's pretty late by now, as time flies and the day grows dark.

Since Danny is asleep, I know he can't hear me. I decide I should talk to him. Maybe some part of this will affect what he's like when he wakes up. "Danny, God, I don't know what I'm going to do, honestly. I have all this stupid, complicated werewolf stuff going on. And... I'm just so sorry for not being the boyfriend you want. I d-d-don't know what to do. Everything's messed up. My life is just so..." I start breaking down a bit, just then and there, in the street, holding him.

His eyes suddenly flutter open and I can't hold in my surprise, gasping, and almost dropping him. He laughs as I recover and lift him back near me. "You can stop carrying me now," Danny says. I put him down, a little embarrased. He continues, "I know everything's tough for you right now and that's okay. You can figure it out with me, okay? I can help you."

I nod and look away slowly. "I just don't know what to do, Danny. I just technically 'lost' my brother. And my pack, I suppose. I just had so many stupid expectations, missions. Honestly, I just feel like I'm in a different world when I'm around you. I feel safe and no one else can guarantee that like you can."

"Ethan, it's okay. Really. I care about you and I want you to get this all sorted out. I promise I'll be with you all the way. We'll figure this all out. Can you trust me?"

"Of course! I already trust you!" I exclaim.

"Eth, look at me." I turn to him. "Let's just be normal teenagers in a relationship for now, okay?"

I lean in to kiss him. The kiss just pulls all my worries away. His scent engulfs me like it always has. The way he holds me is so familiar like nothing else. "I love you, you know that? I'd have to say I want to be with you forever, Danny. I mean it. Forever. Just the two of us."

We arrive back at his house, just as I finish talking. "Why don't we just worry about meeting my parents right now?" Danny replies, jokingly.

~The End~

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Please give comments/ give kudos/ bookmark! Please read my other fanfiction for The Hunger Games (they're worth the time, or so I've heard)
> 
> I update soon so keep checking back!


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